Ancient mesopotamia

in between what rivers was mesopotamia in?

tigris and euphrates

What would happen when the rivers flooded

silt would be left behind

What was another name for mesopotamia and the land it was in?

the fertile crescent

What was the hierachy?

top: priests then kings

middle: artisanas, merchants, and scribes

bottom: common farmers

culuture

way of thinking about the world, universe, society

Who made the first system of writing

sumerians, called cuneiform

who invented the plow and wheel

sumerians

What protected sumerian city states

high walls

Ziggurat

temple at the center of the city

Who got less punishment?

the higher class would receive less punishment

Who created the first written legal code?

babylonian king hammurabi

How many laws were in Hammurabi code?

282 laws

What did each city state make?

empires

What did sumerians and babylonians have in common religion?

they were polytheistic

Who were the first monotheistics?

hebrews in palestine, with judaism

Who simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet

phoenicians

What languages did cuneiform influence?

greek, latin, and english

zoroastrianism

began in persia (iran) around 600 BC, by a prophet zoroaster

How many gods did zoroastrianism have?

2 gods, one was good and the other bad